Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Buys 30,924 Shares of Essent Group Ltd. $ESNT

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE:ESNT) by 8.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 409,309 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 30,924 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Essent Group were worth $23,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,987,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $779,336,000 after buying an additional 85,295 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL grew its holdings in shares of Essent Group by 21.3% in the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 437,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,832,000 after acquiring an additional 76,855 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Essent Group in the fourth quarter worth $27,983,000. CWM LLC increased its position in Essent Group by 132.2% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 42,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after acquiring an additional 24,139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Essent Group during the fourth quarter valued at $1,136,000. Institutional investors own 93.00% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Mary Lourdes Gibbons sold 4,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.01, for a total value of $276,292.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 233,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,169,173.36. The trade was a 1.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO David B. Weinstock sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.51, for a total transaction of $349,305.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 35,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,254,223.94. This represents a 13.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 31,314 shares of company stock worth $2,010,987 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Essent Group Price Performance

Shares of Essent Group stock opened at $64.41 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.31. Essent Group Ltd. has a 52 week low of $55.22 and a 52 week high of $67.09. The company has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.18, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Essent Group (NYSE:ESNT) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $336.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $297.56 million. Essent Group had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 53.64%.During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Essent Group Ltd. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essent Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Essent Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ESNT has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Essent Group from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Essent Group in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Essent Group from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Essent Group from $65.00 to $64.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Essent Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.57.

Essent Group Profile

Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE: ESNT) is a publicly traded insurance holding company specializing in private mortgage insurance and mortgage reinsurance solutions. Through its primary subsidiary, Essent Guaranty, the company provides credit protection to mortgage lenders, helping mitigate the risk of borrower default on residential mortgage loans. Essent’s insurance policies enable lenders to offer low-down-payment programs, supporting homebuyers in achieving homeownership with reduced upfront equity requirements.

Beyond traditional mortgage insurance, Essent offers a suite of risk management and analytics services designed to help financial institutions monitor and manage mortgage portfolios.